Rad City: Asheville, North Carolina

Rad City: Asheville, North Carolina

Thought North Carolina was all basketball and barbeque? Wrong. The laid-back town of Asheville brings some big-city swagger with legit rock clubs, after-hours parties, and a burgeoning restaurant scene—including a just-opened cousin of El Bulli (Yeah, that El Bulli)

The stickers are everywhere—on the windows of dive bars, used-record stores, head shops, and the omnipresent yoga studios. "Love Asheville," they read. "Local Is the New Black." Yes, they're a little twee. But after a few meals, a few local microbrews, and a rock show or two, you realize that loving Asheville's basically a reflex. The city of 80,000 is an anomaly in its home state, with its indie-music cred, ambitious restaurants that could hold their own in San Francisco, and a panorama of the Blue Ridge Mountains that will have you turning circles just to take it all in. The locals are too modest and well- mannered to say this themselves, but we've got a better slogan for that sticker: "Asheville is the new Austin, with a better view."